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In reply to the discussion: Thank you, Edward Snowden, for so clearly allowing.. [View all]reACTIONary
(5,824 posts)... just a change in venue? The proposal does not end or substantially limit the NSA's access to or use of the data it was previously collecting. In fact, in the end, it may substantially expand its scope:
Appearing on CBSs Face the Nation, Hayden said that, due to privacy concerns, the NSA is collecting and receiving only about one-third of the phone records it initially was accessing. Under the change proposed by Obama, Hayden said the NSA would be able to query the data in an exhaustive way, not that one-third.
The legislation in the House would go further, he said, enabling the NSA to query not just telephone metadata, but digital or email metadata, too.
Obama is defending the data collection program through a proposal that provides people "greater comfort" without challenging the principle of it or ending actual access.